Many plumbing fixtures, such as wash basins and toilet tanks, have water supply lines leading to them equipped with relatively small shut-off valves that plumbers refer to as "Speedy" valves. A flex tube often extends from the outlet side of the "Speedy" valve to the fixture, and this flex tube often is connected to the outlet of the small "Speedy" valve by a compression fitting. When a plumber is called upon to make a repair or replacement in such a wash basin or toilet, the first step is an attempt to shut off this existing small valve to prevent flow of water while doing the repair or replacement on the fixture involved.
It is not unusual for such a "Speedy" valve which has been in its open condition for many years to become defective by sticking in its full-open position or for its valve stem to be covered by corrosion or mineral deposits so that the handle on the stem cannot be turned completely off. Sometimes the valve seat itself becomes eroded or irregularly mineral-coated such that the valve leaks significantly, even when strenuous attempts are made by the plumber to turn the valve handle to a fully off position.
When a plumber is faced with a situation where an existing supply line valve has become defective such that it permits significant incoming water flow to continue, then the plumber must deal with two unattractive alternative procedures.
1. One alternative is to attempt to make needed repairs on a fixture while trying to use rags, sponges and buckets to staunch unwanted incoming flow of water entering through the defective existing shut-off valve. Often the plumber is working in a cramped space, lying on a floor facing upwardly underneath the wash basin or toilet tank being repaired, and it is not unusual in such situations that the incoming water is squirting into the plumber's eyes or onto the plumber's face and running down his neck.
2. The other alternative procedure is to attempt to trace back a supply pipe line for that particular fixture hoping to locate a main shut-off valve which can be used for temporarily stopping the incoming flow. In an apartment building, it is sometimes necessary for the plumber to go down into a basement so as to shut off a main riser for a whole tier of apartments, because a shut-off valve for a particular apartment (in which a fixture to be repaired is situated) is inaccessible in a locked service cabinet whose key is missing or is inoperative. When a plumber has trudged down into a basement, the plumber often finds a basement piping situation in which it is very difficult to ascertain which is an appropriate main riser valve to be turned off. Often the respective riser valves have not been tagged nor marked with identifications telling which tiers of apartments they control. Moreover, after an appropriate riser shut off valve is located and has been closed, other tenants in other apartments along that particular riser soon become annoyed by lack of water and raise complaints, while a needed repair or replacement of a fixture is being accomplished in one particular apartment.
Considerable frustrating time is lost while a plumber goes down into a basement seeking a hoped-for riser shut-off valve, experimentally turning off a promising valve, then in coming back up to the apartment only to find out that the wrong valve was turned off, necessitating another trip down to the basement, amid possible complaints from neighboring tenants, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,287,107--Robertson shows valves for a steam heating system of vintage 1918. In FIG. 1 a valve plunger opens downwardly, and in FIG. 4 a valve plunger opens upwardly. FIG. 2 shows that the valve handle turns 180.degree. between "ON" and "OFF" positions. This Robertson steam valve is cited because it happens to disclose female and male connections at 3 and 4, respectively, on "induction and eduction necks 3 and 4" (Col. 1, lines 38-39). However, both the male and female connections are threaded. Both the male and female connections are of large diameter suited for steam (gaseous) flow not of modest size as is typical for water (liquid) flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,414,118--Eller et al discloses a valve having a plunger 6 (FIG. 4) with a pair of ears 8 (FIG. 2) sliding in grooves 7 for preventing the plunger 6 from rotating as it is moved up and down by turning a handle 22, 23. Multiple turns of the handle are required for moving the plunger from fully closed to fully open. The inlet passage 2 is located in a neck which is both male and female threaded. The outlet passage 3 is located in a male threaded neck.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,508,130 and 4,691,726--Studer et al are directed to solving plumbing repair problems. Both of these patents describe solutions to plumbing repair problems. These solutions are considerably more complex and are more time-consuming than the problem-solving capability afforded by the described embodiment of the present invention. In addition, both of these prior patents involve temporary use of a main shut-off valve. Neither of these Studer et al patents discloses nor suggests a downstream repair problem where a main shut-off valve is inaccessible, inoperative or remotely located in a basement among an array of shut-off valves whose identifies or control functions are not identified. In contrast to Studer et al's repair sequence, the present invention advantageously avoids any need to seek and to shut off any main valve.
In Studer et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,130, FIG. 1 shows a leak at 38 in pipe 24 located in a crawl space beneath a floor 14. In order to repair this leak 38, these joint inventors describe a procedure involving a sequence of steps as follows: (A) An accessible exterior main shut-off valve 22 is closed; (B) in FIG. 2, a desired pipe-cutting location 92 is selected; (C) in FIG. 2, the pipe 24 is cut in two places at this selected position 92 so that a short length 94 of the pipe 24 can be removed; (D) in FIG. 3, the spacing of the two cuts leaves a gap 96 equal to the spacing between two socket-stop shoulders 72 (FIG. 5) of their new valve 40; (E) in FIG. 4, their new valve 40 is installed in the gap between the two cut ends of the pipe; (F) their new valve 40 has compression fittings at each end; (G) their new valve is installed and then is shut; (H) the main shut-off valve 22 now is re-opened so that water will be available elsewhere in the building; (I) the leak 38 is repaired as shown at 98 in FIG. 4; (J) their new valve 40 is now opened for leak-proof testing of the repair 98. When repair 98 has been made and tested to be leak-proof, this new valve 40 is turned permanently open. Thus, this new valve becomes part of the supply pipe.
There is no discussion nor suggestion in this Studer et al '130 patent concerning the problems associated with attempting to make a repair downstream from a leaky localized shut-off "Speedy" valve, where a main shut-off valve is inaccessible, defective, unidentifiable or is impractical to use, because shutting it off would inconvenience too many other tenants in a large building.
In Studer et al '130 the inventors are concerned about the difficulty of repeatedly squirming in and out of a crawl space. They want to shut off the main valve 22 once. Then, they squirm into the crawl space to install and shut off their new valve 40. Then, they get out of the crawl space to open the main valve 22. Then they get back into the crawl space for making repair 98. Their new valve 40 enables them to complete and to leak-proof test their repair 98 while remaining in the crawl space and then to leave new valve 40 in a permanently full-open position. They fully assume that the main shut-off valve 22 is accessible, is fully operational and is practical for them to use for temporary shut-off purposes.
In the other Studer et al patent '726, the patentees describe a water tank 32 (FIG. 1) where the existing valve assembly 38 needs to be replaced. They are Dot making a repair downstream from the existing valve assembly 38; they are replacing it.
Their valve-replacement procedure is: (A) turn off an accessible main shut-off valve 22; (B) cut the inlet pipe 40 (FIG. 3) adjacent to the inlet side 48 (FIG. 3) of the existing valve assembly 38; (C) remove the existing valve by disconnecting a flex-tube connection 52; (D) install a new valve 70 using a compression fitting 74 (FIG. 5) for connection to the cut end of the inlet pipe 40; (E) connect the flex-tube connection 52 to the compression fitting at the downstream side of their new valve 70; (F) open the main shut-off valve 22.
In Studer et al '726, the patentees do not teach nor suggest that their new valve 70 is to be installed downstream from and in series with the existing defective valve assembly 38. This existing defective valve has soldered connections. Its downstream end is soldered to a short piece of pipe 68 which in turn is soldered to a downstream adapter 60 which is exteriorly threaded (male end fitting 60).
Moreover, the new valve 70 of Studer et al '726 has two male threaded ends 96 and 124. Thus, their new valve 70 is not adapted for direct connection immediately downstream from the existing valve assembly 38, since this existing valve assembly already has an adapter 60 with an exteriorly threaded male end 62 (col. 5, lines 40-42). It will be understood that an exteriorly threaded male fitting is not directly connectable to another exteriorly threaded male fitting.
The patentees in Studer et al '726 wish to avoid making a soldered "sweat" plumbing connection close to an interior wood-stud wall 18 where the water tank is located. These inventors Studer and Schourup appear to have had considerable practical plumbing experience. Since they have not recognized the problem which the present invention has solved, namely an inaccessible, not fully operational or an impractically situated main shut-off valve, the teaching in this U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,726 serves to emphasize patentable novelty of the present invention.